Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,231 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,497,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $92.28 on Friday. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $85.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.67.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a net margin of 8.61% and a negative return on equity of 42.14%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Starbucks from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Starbucks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.96.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.